Liverpool dragged themselves through a chaotic week and a messy Champions League tie in Milan, snatching a late 1–0 win over Inter thanks to Dominik Szoboszlai’s cool penalty, all while Mohamed Salah stayed back in England after publicly blasting boss Arne Slot.
It wasn’t pretty. In fact, for an hour it was barely watchable. But when Felix Zwayer pointed to the spot for what Inter swore was a “ghost foul”, the Reds didn’t hesitate. Szoboszlai smashed home the 84th minute winner, giving Liverpool a massive European lift on a night that could’ve easily gone sideways.
Inter were furious with the decision, claiming Alessandro Bastoni’s tug on Florian Wirtz was barely a touch. The San Siro crowd howled, the Inter bench erupted, but it didn’t change much. Slot, who has spent days fending off questions about Salah’s meltdown, walked away with the kind of win managers cling to in difficult weeks.
Before the penalty, the closest either side got to scoring was Ibrahima Konaté bundling in from close range only for VAR to chalk it off after a long check for handball against Hugo Ekitike. Liverpool didn’t complain too much; Inter had barely threatened.
The victory pushes Liverpool to 12 points from six matches, nudging them into the all important top eight spots that guarantee a straight path to the last 16. After winning just four of their previous 15 games in all competitions, this felt like a proper release valve.
Inter, meanwhile, slide into trouble. Cristian Chivu’s side also sit on 12 points but has now lost back to back European games and created almost nothing against a patched up Liverpool team missing Salah, Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo.
They still need to play Arsenal at home and finish away at Borussia Dortmund, two fixtures that could easily dump them out of the top eight altogether.
Salah’s absence hung over the night like fog. The Egyptian’s extraordinary interview, claiming the club “threw him under the bus” and that he basically no longer had a relationship with Slot, stunned even senior figures at Liverpool. That Saudi Arabia publicly declared they’ll “do whatever it takes” to sign the 33 year old in January hasn’t exactly calmed the noise.
Yet, despite the drama, Inter barely tested Liverpool. They didn’t have a shot of any kind until the 37th minute. Lautaro Martínez did miss a free header before half time, but the second half drifted into nothingness until Szoboszlai blew it open.
Slot won’t care how scrappy it was. Liverpool arrived in Milan under heavy fire and walked out with a priceless win. With the Salah saga still rumbling, this might be the night that keeps their European campaign and maybe their season on track.